First I ordered it about a week ago from the main distributor here in the US in Aliso Vallejo ,CA.
http://www.thundertiger4u.com/thunder-t ... 48c1151a5dCost a very resonable $449.00 including shipping,and this sub is no light pool toy ,its weighs in at 29.3 lbs package and all and very well packed by the way in solid foam Ill be keeping that.

At a formidable size of 2.5 ft X 11.5 beam and over a ft. high, she is large.

Well after I opened and removed the sub and checked out the quick refrence guid it was ready for a maiden voyage shakedown cruise,HA HA ! Man I tell you this sub must have ben tested to the max at the factory,just like driving that bran new Volvo off the showroom floor she took to the water like a fish ,smoth power not even a sound of a huming motor at full.

I then moved the left stick left and the sub started to slowly dive as if on rails level and steady ,perfectly predictable and scale like.

The pool I ran in is only 20 X 12 oval and 5ft deep but that was no problem ,this sub turns an incredible 2ft radius or under and fast responsive results make it a even beter for those tight canyons at the Den.

The dive was controlable almost to the inch depending on dive plane input and water pumped in,it uses a blader and roller pump along with over pressure sensor so that the bag wont be overfilled.

The forward dive planes are in my opinion a bit small and dont respond to inputs as well as the rudder since the rudder is behind the kort knozzle.

For the size of this sub it could use larger dive planes in the rear and especialy up front since it is not intended to go very fast but to manuever well is its fortay.

the brass prop could also be larger with a kurt knozzle and the bomb like aft fins must be reduced a bit and that would help in the diving as well.

This sub is a real pleasure to run though right out of the box!
As you can see the desighne is uncomnly robust and engineered very well even the shaft servo passthrughs are as good as what is seen on the most expensive diving gear for camaras and ROVs ,stainless 100% hardwear and O ring sealed every where, no sparing or omitions here she is ratted to go deep 10 meters!!,I wonder what the crush depth is !! Well I dont realy want to know.

The electronicks are impressive ,there is a triple failsafe interlocking system on board that is par none.

If to deep and signal lost she will serface.

If power is too low the same result.

If water is detected inside also,the pump is comanded to reverse flow and up she comes.

Also 3 LEDs indicate the variose states she is in including normal.

The motors for both the main drive and pump are unusualy large can motors and are powerfull units,Ill compare them with my high speed ones that are also can motors.

The finish and fit of all the components on this sub and believe me there are alot are first rate ,stainless steel and high impact plastic,alen screws and philister head as well,machined stainless cross members for the planes and stainless motor mount flange with O ring seals including the main 4 mm prop shaft that has a special lip seal and greas along with a dog bone U jouint that is smooth as glass.
Another neat item is the robust rubber feet on the keel stainless plate,a good idea for a sub of this size ,no scratches on the wifes kitchen table,totaly funiture safe,just be sure she is dry!
The main switch and vedeo on switch is located underneath the bow by 2 stainless and O ring packs threaded and caped in an inginuese setup and is adjustable.

I plan on moving the aft control rods to be in the tailcone with bellow seals,I just dont like the exposed shafts.

The inner casing is large and has plenty of space for more goodies and thick cristal clear not even a distortion view of the inner workings is great.

Body parts are easy to disasemble especialy the nose it comes off with just some pressure ,clips hold in place over the main view plate that is a thick 5mm Lexan I believe.
This plate must be removed with the tool provided and by the way the kit has some nice tools also,but any metric socket will work to get to the fuse or to charge the sub which also has its charger as well including the 6 ch serface comander radio.
Nice radio to it looks like a Futaba and full size servos 2 each and 6 ch mini reciever ,the ESC is very slow start in both directions and gives full power in both directions.

For 160 something bucks more an onboard color camara that has a funy name is available also.
,tethered of course.

I plan on changing the color to silver and red,increasing the prop size and pitch and of course installing my favorite ,the Aquadrive 2.0 for longer run time.
Triming down the bomb tail fins ,adding led lights to the front and belly and installing a color tethered camara on the outside of the front plate inside of the dome and painting the dome so that only the camara has a view and the top dome painted to look like a viewing bridge.Also a quick release opening port for chargeing and to gain rapid acsess to the fuse.
And a digital volt meter.
I dont think it needs a leveler she is sOO stable and a ADC wount hurt iether.
A filter will also be used on the pump.

For a biginers introduction to the RC Subs world of fun and to see the beuty under the waves this sub by far and I mean by far takes the cake and I take my hat off with praise to the Thunder Tiger Corporation to have developed this wonderfull fun extreamly well made and pree built kit that for 449.00$ (or less,I have some info on even a better price ) you could not find anything even that comes close to it!
Only a well funded Corperation could develop a product like this at a level of engeneering and finished product.

I highly recomend The Neptune SB-1
Well enjoy the pics and if there are any questions just let me know.

Dave Amur Ship Yard

In this picture you can see the rear stabalizer is trimed in comparison with the other pic,this is the mod I plan on doing,it looks better and should help in diving response.

Last edited by aquadeep on Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:43 am, edited 3 times in total.

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

Yes very much so why the shock ?In the first production of the SB-1 there was some problems with the electronics but that has been delt with from what I can see,mine runs perfect without a single adjustment only to reverse the dive planes.
No glitches even in a pool with a moderate amount of clorine.
Also I will make the radio have a standard thraughtle its spring loaded now and will need to have some friction as well with center detent for stop motor.
I like it for the technology and general desighne employed and ease of use.I build much more complex subs and to scale but to have such a neat yet strange looking sub is just a blast! Definatly must instal the camara though not the stock one.A higher resolution sensor with built in IR for dark underwater use,mounted out side the caseing in the bow cone on a custom mount.And vedeo goggles.
I will be also adding a vedeo overlay system for telemetry will post that very cool item shortly.

This is one fine machine.

In other words you realy get your moneys worth! Its refreshing and about time.

Dave

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

I charged it up overnight with the supplied tricle charger that has a charge indicator as does the radio charger.
Then launched her again in the freezing pool and she ran for about an hour ,and since i used the dive function alot to get used to the serface /dive rates and pump time and did several hovers that area breez including landings on the steps,all very smoth and most of all fun!

She will hover like a dream!

Then I noticed she was getting slower as I drove around under the waves and then she just started serfaceing with plenty of power to bring her out to port .The auto no dive serfacing function kikked in and that was the end of the run.
Nice!

Dave

Last edited by aquadeep on Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

Just modified the radios thraughtle so that it has a center detent and friction.
Mod part canibalized from a parts radio. The copper strip sping,then a fine tryangle file made the detent noch at the exact nuetral point then screwd the strip in place where there would be one on an air radio ,the screw hole and holder are all there,very easy mod,also the battery plug should be tucked inside the case prior to closing the door ,a bit tight but when done this way it wont hurt the cover door.
Works great!

I dont know yet the total run time ,radio and sub but will let you know.

Dave

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"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

The charge time for the SB-1 is prity fast in less than an hour the red charging light goes out on the suplied charger and then bolt the cover with the multy socket tool snug and evenly torqqued in even steps as not to stres the clear thick cover and she is ready to go for 45 to an hour run ,not bad for a lead ascid battery!

The radio holds its charge for well over an hour and will beep when its low.

Stay tuned for the mods that will make her look better and run faster,longer.

Dave vAmur Ship Yard

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

I ran her at the Devils Den and needles to say she ran perfect,and sent her to the bottom about 16 ft off the bridge staight down then sent her back up . The nice thing about this sub is that I can take her any place any time I would run her in even icy conditions! Thats reliability.

I just finished painting her silver metalic and bergundy red ,what difference from the monotone yellow and no more jokes,we all live in a yellow submarine.

I will be modifying her now first with a larger 4.5 amp lead asid baterry,then the drive with a geared 6 to 1 ratio and larger prop.
The stern planes have been cut down to a more reasonable profile.
Ill post later.

Dave Amur Ship Yard

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"

I have just modified the SB-1 to use a larger batery .From the 2.3 amp hour one to a 4.0 amp hour .By useing a dremel tool the craddles are enlargeed so that the new batery fits right in.

The original frame rounds still retain there shape althugh prity close to running out of space.Strenght is good since the outer tube casing also holds the frame in place.

The tubbing from the pump had to be re routed so that it went back around the batery instaed of under it as was originaly done,then the T fitting was made at the front and the pressure sensor remained in the same place,just a bit more tubbing and a better T fitting was used.

I should get much longer run times and I will have to reballance the sub by removing and adjusting the wieghts.

Also I plan on replaceing the direct drive motor with a planetary gear drive unit that will have a 3.33 to one ratio for even longer run time with a redesighned prop kort knozzle and stern planes.

The gear drive is a MP Jet unit and are very well made with ball bearings
and one piece housings and special gears,the kit comes with grease lock tite and pinion gear for regular 550 /600 can motors.Cost 25.00$
I might make it water cooled,that also aids in longer run time.

I have already painted her to be metalic silver and burgundy red,clear coated several times all with automotive paints that are very atractive and long lasting.

Led high intensity lihts will also be installed as well as the color camara,but will come later.
Check out the vedeo in the Deep south group section.

Dave Amur Ship Yard

"I like submarine comanders ,they don't have time for bull!!" and
"Don't tell me it can't be done!"